The present invention relates to a discharging path opening/closing device for a portable vacuum bottle, and more particularly to a discharging path opening/closing device for a portable vacuum bottle which is made so that there is a cooperative movement of a path closing button and a path opening button appearing on or disappearing from a top surface of a stopper of the vacuum bottle. The position of the buttons is clearly indicated and the opening and closing of discharging path is smoothly and stably operated.
A portable vacuum bottle is a container for preserving and maintaining for long time the temperature of the liquid content which may include stored water such as warm water or cold water. Such a vacuum bottle is used for drinking its stored content while carrying it, and is manufactured necessarily with many limitations in volume so it can be easy to carry along.
A vacuum bottle generally comprises vacuum insulating walls structured in double layers with internal and external walls with a suitable distance interval therebetween. A storing chamber is provided to be stored with warm water or cold water within the double structured insulating walls, and a stopper provided at the charging/discharging opening for charging and discharging the content at top of the storing chamber. A cap for separately covering exterior of the stopper is provided.
The vacuum bottle is provided with a discharging path for discharging the content within the storing chamber through the stopper, and the content can be conveniently discharged even when the stopper is not opened, by having a separate discharging path.
Japanese Utility Model publication Heisei-2-20976 shows a stopper which is structured by coupling with the internal body and external body and inserted into a charging and discharging opening in a screwlike manner. A discharging path for connecting an interior and exterior of the storing chamber is provided between the internal body and the external body of the stopper. A resilient member having an upward resilient force on top surface of the stopper is resiliently provided, and it may be opened and closed by a path opening button and a path closing button provided to appear and disappear opposite to each other.
More specifically, a valve seat is provided and is able to ascend and descend at the front surface of the stopper. When the path opening button is pressed, the valve seat is pushed down by its descending force and a path opening position is maintained. When the pressing force is released from the path opening button, it returns to original state by a restoring force of the resilient member whereby the discharging path which has been opened is made to close.
A braking structure is necessarily provided for maintaining an opened state of the valve seat. A separate braking structure for fixing and maintaining the descended position of the valve seat is required, leaving the discharging path.
This braking structure is provided with a hooking protrusion having a suitable slanted surface at the bottom end of one side wall of the path opening button, and is further provided with a braking force having a slanted surface. These surfaces are slidably contacted with each other diagonally with the hooking protrusion's slanted surface of the path opening button at the path closing button so that a braking and releasing operation is made.
When the path opening button is pressed down and descended, the path closing button is forcibly released from the hooking protrusion of the path opening button by its descending force and simultaneously it is ascended oppositely with the path opening button by a resilient member resiliently provided upwardly whereby an opened state of the discharging path is indicated by its raised height. Simultaneously with this, the descended path opening button is blocked by a braking force of the path closing button so that an opened state is maintained.
In this opening and closing structure of the stopper, the hooking protrusion of the path closing button and the hooking protrusion of the path opening button are provided by superposing on an ascending and descending path when passing each other. In case of opening and closing operation of the button, the hooking protrusions of the buttons collide with each other and are forcibly and slidably contacted whereby a frictional coefficient is largely exerted. This frictional operation gives a load to the ascending and descending operation of the button whereby the opening and closing operation is not smooth. When an unreasonable force is applied to the pressing operation of the button by carelessness of a user, there has been a problem that the hooking protrusion is damaged, and the opened state of the valve seat is made to be maintained by a frictional coefficient contacted in line at the slanted surface of the hooking protrusion.
However, since its contacting force is weak and further the restoring force of the resilient member resiliently providing the path closing button to upward is operated whereby the braking state of the hooking protrusion is easily released and the discharging path which has been opened becomes to be closed, there has been a disadvantage not only of instability but also the product characteristic is lowered.
When a cap covers the stopper, the path closing button which has been maintained in an opened state of the discharging path is automatically closed by a pressing of the cap being covered. At this moment, a descending operation of the path closing button is forcibly made as described above and this forcible descending operation makes a difference to the assembling operation of the cap to be coupled to the discharging opening of the container; a meshing of teeth sometimes fails to occur. Therefore, there has been a disadvantage that the covering state is unstable and the path closing button is not closed.